INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), Thrissur chapter, has prepared a heritage map for the Thrissur central town area.
As part of the programme, architecture students and young architects undertook site surveys and photo documentation of old buildings in the area. A heritage map prepared by them at a three-day workshop was presented to Thrissur Mayor Ajitha Vijayan on Friday. Heritage walks and interactive sessions by conservation experts were part of the programme. Thrissur is a well planned fortified town, centred on a large elevated open space, Thekkinkad Maidan (ground) and Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple at its summit.
The streets radially branch out from this core, along the natural terrain in organic patterns. The mapping exercise revealed a high concentration of its natural, built and intangible heritage components, functioning together as a single urban spatial entity.
The open spaces, community tanks, shrines, traditional institutions, traditional and vernacular housing stocks, marketplaces, ceremonial routes, rituals, festivals, and customs and practices along with the social and spiritual fabric of the town have got an irreplaceable relationship within themselves and the geography.
Many national and international conservation experts and urban designers have commended highly on the unique cultural ensemble of the town.
In disrepair
“Many of the heritage components are facing neglect and in conditions of disrepair,” the INTACH survey observed. The heritage map prepared at the workshop will serve as a resource base for any further research or development of the town.
INTACH has also proposed the need for constituting a heritage cell for the city, which can work in collaboration with conservation architects, town planners, and other experts for integrated heritage conservation of the city.
